Circulating type straddle washer



July 9, 1968 J. w. BATEMAN 3,391,743

CIRCULATING TYPE STRADDLE WASHER Filed Jan. 1S, 1967 u 2 Sheets-Sheet 1INVENToR A TTOFNEY MII.'

July 9, 1968 Filed Jan.

J. W. BATEMAN CIRCULATING TYPE STRADDLE WASHER le@ I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR. J W BA TE MAN 4 TTOE/VEY United States Patent Office 3,391,743Patented July 9, 1968 3,391,743 CIRCULATING TYPE STRADDLE WASHER J. W.Bateman, 5435 Summerdale St., Lynwood, Calif. 90262 Filed Jan. 16, 1967,Ser. No. 609,410 8 Claims. (Cl. 166-183) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A`casing washer for locating perforations in a well easing, `as well asfor various types of washing, squeezing, testing of lon-g or shortstraddles in the casing, a top valve being provided for selectivetesting at top or bottom 'annulus of casing string for leaks.

Background of the invention For any of several reasons, well oasings areprovided with or develop holes or like perforations that require to beplugged to place the casing in condition for operation therein of apump. Suc-h holes or perforations may be Ilocated at known or unknownlevels. Therefore, it is necessary to locate them before steps can betaken to plug them. Location is also required for jetting sand, mud, andthe like, from the hole around the casing, Whether solid or formed as abridge, before the same may be Washed out.

The present tool is adapted for performing either of such functions,selectively. Applicant presently has no knowledgefof washers capable ofperforming the above functions.

This invention also has for its objects to provide such means that arepositive in operation, convenient in use, easily install-ed in a workingposition and easily disconnected therefrom, economical of manufacture,relatively simple, and of general superiority `and serviceability.

The invention also comprises novel details of construction and novelcom'binations and arrangements of parts, which will more `fully appearin the course of the following description and which is based on theaccompanying drawings. However, said drawings merely show, and thefollowing description merely describes, preferred embodiments of thepresent invention, which are given by way of illustration or exampleonly.

In the drawings, like reference characters designate simi-lar parts inthe several views.

Summary of the invention The drawings show a typical well casing 7 of anupper, larger size, and -a smaller lower size at '8, with a joint 9connecting these upper and lower casing parts. Perforations 10 arepresent in said casing.

The present washer is operable in said casing vand comprises, generally,an inner flow tube 11 for receiving washing fluid 'from above andcirculating the same down-` wardly in the washer; an outer llow tube 12concentrically around said tube 11 and defining an annular passage 13therebetween, the tube 12 terminating in a lower extension 14 having apassage 15 therein; longitudinally spaced sets of packers 16 and 16asecured to the outer flow tube 12 and in sealing engagement with thelarger casing part 7; a third set of packers 17 secured to the lowertube extension 14 and in sealing engagement with the smaller casing part8; a -bypass flow valve 18 extending upwardly around the upper end ofthe inner flow tube 11 from the -upper end of the outer flow tube 12; alateral port 19 at the lower end of the upper passage 20 in the tube 11,the same opening laterally into the casing 7 below the set of packers16; a similar lateral port 21, longitudinally spaced below the port 19,at the upper end of the lower lpassage 22 of said tube 12, also openinginto the casing 7 below said set of packers 16; a third lateral port 23at the lower end of the passage 22 and opening laterally into the casing7 between the sets of packers 16a and 17; a second bypass valve 24mounted on the outer flow tube 12 :between the sets of packers 16 and16a and in operative association with the lateral ports 19 and 20; and acap 25 closing off the lower end of the passage 15 of the outer flowtube 12.

An alternative washer structure has a modified arrangement of the bypassvalve 24 with respect to the port 19, a modified set of packers 17a toreplace the set 17, provides a longitudinal extension 26 on the lowerend of the inner tube 11, and provides the lower end of the outer tube12 with a cap 25a through which the tube 26 extends.

Brief description of the drawings FIG. l is an elevational view of theupper end of a preferred form of circulating type straddle washeraccording to the present invention.

FIG. la is a similar view of the lower end of the washer shown in FIG.1.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the portion p of the washershown in FIG. 1.

partly in section, of a modification.

Dscription of the preferred embodiments The upper end of the inner flowtube 11 extends by a suitable flow string, to the top of the well. Saidtube 11 where it terminates at the port 19, is longitudinally spacedfrom the lower portion, lwhere it terminates at the Iport 2'1. Thus,fluid flowing down in the passage 20, can only eX'it from port 19' andfluid flowing in the casing 7 to said port can only exit from theopenings 21.

The lower end of said tube 11, being spaced as at 32, trom the upperend, its passage 22 cannot directly receive fluid from said upper end,but only Iby way of a bypass passage 33 around the outside of the outertube 12 and extending between the ports 19 and 21. Such fluid dischargesinto the casing 7 or the casing part 8.

The inner tube 11 and the outer tube 12 are fixedly secured to eachother by the tubes 34 through which the ports 19 and 21 extend, saidtubes 11 and 12 being coaxial to form the annular passage 13. Theextension 14 is shown as being connected by a coupling 35. Thecontinuity of the passage 22 to the port 23 is maintained passages 13and 15, as shown in FIG. 2a'.

The sets of packers 16, 16a and 17 may be variously formed. In thiscase, the set 16 has an upper packer 37 that seals against downward flowin the annular passage 38 defined between the casing 7 and the outertube 12, and two packers 39 therebelow that seal against upward fiow insaid passage 38. The packer set 16a has an upper packer 40 that sealsagainst downward flow in passage 38, and a lower packer 41 that sealsagainst upward flow in said passage. The packer set 17 has two packers42 that seal against downward flow in the annular passage 43 that isdefined between the casing part 8 and the extension tube 14 and thecoupling 35 that connects it to the outer tube 12.

The bypass flow valve 18 is best shown in FIG. 2 as comprising a tubularextension 44 having a threaded connection with the upper end of theouter tube 12, an annuby a coupling 305Y which is small enough to allowcontinuity between the lar passage 45 being formed between saidextension 44 and the inner tube 11, orifices 46 in said extensioncommunieating the passages 38 and 45. The upper end 47 of said extensionis provided with a coarse-pitch thread 48, such as the square threadsthat are shown. The end 47 has a clearance bore 49, defining an annularpassage Si) between said bore and the tube extending therethrough.O-rings 51 seal the lower end of the passage 49. The previouslymentioned openings 31 are located above said O-rings, thereby openingthe passage 20 to the space above the tube 11 through said passage 49.An -outer sleeve 52 has internal square threads 53 to engage the threads48, its upper end, by a suitable flow string, extending to the top ofthe well. At its lower end, said sleeve is provided with packing rings5S that seal against the outer surface of the tubular extension 44. Whensaid sleeve is retracted, as in FIG. 2, the packing rings 55, byabutting a shoulder on the lower end of the extension end 47, are clearof orifices 46, thereby providing communication of the channel 38 withthe channel 13. By turning the string to cause the sleeve 52 to run downon its threads to bring the packing rings 55 downwardly below theorifices 46, such communication between channels 33 and 13 is shut off.

The second bypass valve 24 is shown as a sleeve 56 that, by means of itsopposite ends 57 and 5S, is slidingly engaged with the outer surface ofthe outer tube 12. Said sleeve 56 is litted with a set of belly springs59 which resiliently press against the inner surface of the casing 7 andproduce a friction that will retain the sleeve 56 in its adjustedposition during rotative movement of the washer from above. Said sleeve56 is provided with two oppositely disposed double bayonet slots 60which have upper legs 61 extending in one direction and lower legs 62extending in the opposite direction from vertical slot portions 63. Apin 64 is provided on the tube 12, one engaged in each bayonet sl-ot.The sleeve 56 has an inner enlarged bore 65 between the ends 57 and 5S,the men tioned bypass passage 33 retaining coincidence with said bore asthe valve 24 is operated. It will be clear that with the pins 64 engagedwith either of the legs 61 or 62 of the bayonet slots 60, the valve 24will move vertically, in either direction with the washer. By rotatingthe washer to extract the pins 64 from legs 62, the sleeve remainsfrictionally in position while the washer is being moved upwardly untilthe pins encounter the upper end of the slot portions 63. Now, thewasher is continued to be turned to enter the pins 64 into the legs 61.In this manner, the two ports 19 and 21 from a position, as in FIG. 2,Where both are in bypassing register with the bore 65, are moved to aposition, as in FIG. 3, where port 21 remains sealed olf in the bore 65while the port 19 is now in communication with the passage 38 betweenthe packers 39 and 40. By reversing the rotative movement of the washer,the bypass valve may be moved from the position of FIG. 3 to that ofFIG. 2. With the pins 64 in either of the legs 61 or 62, the Valve 24moves bodily with the washer as the same is moved longitudinally ineither direction.

When the above described form of washer, shown in FIGS. l to 4, islowered into the casing by means of the string of pipe connected to theupper threaded end 54 ofthe sleeve 52, the different sets of packers 16,16a and 17 will readily slide within the walls of the casing parts 7 and8. When the washer has reached the position shown in FIGS. la and 2a,the same is ready to carry out the above-mentioned washing, testing andhole-locating operations. The upwardly facing packers 37, 40, and 42 arein position to seal against downward flow past them in passages 38 and43; the downwardly facing packers 39, 41 and 42 are in position to sealagainst upward flow in said passages; and the belly spring 59 of thebypass valve 24 retains the position of the sleeve 56 of said valveunder torque forces generated when the washer is turned from above, ineither direction.

In order to test whether or not the casing 7, above the packer 37 hasholes, the sleeve 52, by means of the string of pipe extending to thetop of the well, is turned so it will run down on the square threads toa low position, indicated by the dot-dash lines 52a of FIG. 1 and inwhich the packer rings 55 on the sleeve seal against the tubularextension 44 below the orices 46 in said extension. Now, uid is pumped,from above, into the passage 38. Since the orifices 46 are sealed offand the packer 37 is forced by the fluid pressure into tight sealingengagement with the casing 7, said passage 38 will receive only suchliuid as remains trapped therein, if the casing has no holes, but willcontinue to receive such fluid beyond the capacity of the passage 38,when the same is lost through any holes there may be in the casing abovesaid packer 37.

If the above operation shows that there are no holes in the casing, thewasher may then be operated to locate holes below packer 37 or carry outany of its other functions, as herein above mentioned. If holes areindicated, their location may be ascertained by pulling the stringupwardly until the packer 37 reaches a position above the topmost holes,which is indicated by non-acceptance of additional tiuid by passage 38.Holes at different levels may be located by again lowering the washer,in a step-bystep operation and -observing the acceptance ornonacceptance by the passage 38 `of uid as before.

Whether or not the above hole-locating functions are first performed,the present washer is readied for washing, cleaning, testing or locatingholes in the casing 7 and its lower extension 8 by lirst turning thesleeve S2 by means of the string of pipes that suspends it in adirection to run said sleeve up on its square threads to the full linepositon thereof shown in FIG. 2, thus opening the oritices 46 so theycommunicate the passages 13 and 38. Now, by adjusting the bypass valve24 by turning the washer to withdraw the pins 64 on the tube 12 from thelegs 61 of the bayonet slots 60, the washer, from above, may be loweredto the bypass position of FIGS. 1 and 2 which is retained by the pins 64being entered into the slot legs 62.

Now, tluid is pumped through the string of pipes, into the passage 20 intube 11 through openings 31 therein, downwardly in said tube, out of theport 19 into the bypass passage 33, into the port 21, downwardly in thepassage 22, and outwardly from the port 23 that opens into the passage43 in the casing part 8. I there are no holes in said casing part or inthe adjacent end of the casing 7, when the above passages and ports areiilled with uid, no more will be accepted, thereby advising that such isthe case. If, as shown, said latter portions of the casing have holes 10therein, the liuid discharging from the port 23 will pass therethroughand, by seeping downwardly around the outside of the casing part 8, indits way into said part, through the orifices 25b in the cap 25, intopassage 15 and thence upwardly in passage 13 through orifices 46 intopassage 38. The appearance of uid in the latter passage and the amountthereof in proportion to the amount of fluid that is being pumped, showsthe presence and location of such casing holes, and also enables acontinued pumping operation to force mud, sludge and like obstructionsout of the casing and through the holes. These dislodged particles willthen be carried to the top in the return tlow discharging from passage38.

Holes 1t) in the casing 7 may be located and, if desired, similarlycleaned out, by adjusting the bypass valve 24 to the position of FIG. 3,wherein the pins 64 are engaged in the slot legs 61 and the Washer israised so that port 21 remains in register with and is closed off by thesleeve 56 of said valve, and the port 19 is open to the passage 33 belowthe lower packer 39 of the set of packers 16. Thus, the fluid is pumpeddownwardly in the passage 2t), and out of the port 19 into the passage3S between said packer 39, above the bypass valve 24, and the packer 40below said valve. If there are no holes in the casing 7 between saidpackers, the liow will back up, as hereinbefore described. In such case,the washer is raised in the casing until such backup ceases, therebyindicating the presence of holes in the casing between these twopackers. The procedure that follows may be the same as hereinbeforedescribed. Thereafter, other holes 10, if any, may be located and/ orcleaned out by raising the washer; the acceptance of pumped tiuid willindicate the presence of holes at the different levels and nonacceptancethat no holes are present.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the portion below the bypass valve ismodified over that shown in FIGS. la and 2a of the earlier-describedembodiment. The tube passage 20 of the tube 11 is extended into andopens on the end of the tube extension 26, the latter etxending throughthe cap 25a. The set of packers 16a is omitted. Thus, the valve 24 islocated between and is adjustable on the tube 12 between said sets ofpackers. The same dual jet action between the holes 10 and 10a of FIG. 5may be atorded by similarly spaced holes between `the sets of packers 16and 16a of said earlier embodiment, since the Huid Washes both theinside of the casing or liner. Also, full bypass of fluid at all timespermits free movement in either perforated or non-perforated pipe. Also,it is a simple operation to move the washer from one position toanother.

While the foregoing has illustrated and described what is nowcontemplated to be the best mode of carrying out the invention, theconstructions are, lof course, subject to modification without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, it is not desiredto restrict the invention to the particular forms of construction illus--trated and described, but to cover all modifications that may fallwithin the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described this invention, what is claimed and desired to besecured by Letters Patent is:

.1. A circulating type washer comprising:

(a) an inner iiow tube for receiving washing iluid from above andcirculating the same downwardly in the washer,

(b) an tou-ter concentric flow tube afxed to the inner tube, an annularpassage being defined between said tubes,

(c) two longitudinally spaced sets of packers on the outer liow tubeadapted for flow-sealing engagement with a casing in which the washer isdisposed,

(d) a longitudinally adjustable bypass flow valve, controlled from thetop of the well, on the end of the outer flow tube above the upper setof packers, said valve being provided with bypass orifices that, whenopen, communicate the mentioned passage between the tubes and an annularpassage in the casing around said valve,

(e) said inner tube being divided into longitudinally spaced upper andlower portions, the lower end of the upper portion having a laterallydirected port open to the inner bore of said upper portion and the upperend of the lower portion having a laterally directed port open to theinner bore of said lower portion, and

(f) a second longitudinally adjustable bypass valve mounted on the outerflow tube between the mentioned two sets of packers and in operativeassociation with said two lateral ports that, in one position,communicates said ports to conduct ow from the upper to the lowerportion of the inner tube and, in a second position, closes the lowerport and opens the upper port to the interior of the casing below saidtwo sets of packers.

2. A washer according to claim 1, provided with:

(a) a capped extension on the outer flow tube below the lower packers,and

(b) an extension on the lower end of the inner ow tube and extendingthrough said capped extension.

3. A washer according to claim 1, :in which the irst mentioned bypassvalve comprises:

(a) a tubular extension of the outer ow tube and is in sealingengagement with the inner flow tube, the mentioned bypass orifices belowsuch engagement,

(b) a sleeve around said extension and threadedly connected therewith tomove longitudinally along the extension upon rotational movement, ineither di rection from above, and

(c) packer rings on the lower end ot the sleeve to seal against theouter tube, and the sleeve, in its lower position, closing the bypassoriiices and thereby closing liow between the passage between the outerand inner tubes, and the inside of the casing.

4. A washer according to claim 3, in which the threaded connectionbetween the mentioned valve extension and sleeve comprises acoarse-pitch screw thread.

5. A washer according to claim 1 in which the second bypass valvecomprises:

(a) a tubular member around the outer ow tube with its opposite ends insealing engagement with said ow tube,

(b) friction springs carried by said tubular member in resilient slidingand anti-rotational engagement with the inside of the casing, and

(c) means operative under rotational and longitudinal movement of theouter flow tube from above, to lock the latter to said tubular memberwith the mentioned two lateral ports in either mentioned position,selectively.

6. A washer according to claim 5 in which the lastmentioned meanscomprises a radial pin on the outer surface of the outer tube, and adouble-ended bayonet slot in the mentioned tubular member around theouter flow tube, said slot ends being oppositely directed, one to engagethe men-tioned pin when the outer tube is turned in one direction andthe other to engage said pin when said tube is turned in the oppositedirection.

7. A washer according to claim 1 provided with:

(a) a third set of packers on said outer tube below the second bypassvalve to seal against said casing,

8. A washer according to claim 6, provided with:

(a) a third laterally directed port on the lower end of the lowerportion of the inner flow tube and opening into the casing below thethird .set of packers,

(b) a tubular extension on the lower end of the outer iiow tube belowthe last mentioned laterally directed port, and

(c) a fourth set of packers on said extension.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,341,832 2/1944 Verhenyl et al.166-186X 2,360,311 10/1944 Ausburn et al 166186 X 2,404,876 7/1946Granger 166-186 X 2,426,164 8/ 1947 Breukelman 166-186 X 2,493,962l/l950 Gray 166-183 2,575,603 11/1951 Taylor et al 166-186 X 2,838,l196/1958 Collins 166-186 X DAVID lH. BROWN, Primary Examiner.

